Results

MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University women's fencing team's epee unit earned the third-place medal, helping lead the Rangers to a fourth-place among 15 teams at the 96th National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA) Championships on Saturday in the Simon Forum.
 
The Rangers finished with a total team score of 13, beating out Brandeis (14), Stevens (18), NJIT (19), Haverford (25), Army (30), Hunter (30), Rutgers (34), Navy (36), William & Mary (36), Bryn Mawr (39), and CCNY (45). Temple (4) captured the team title and was followed by Tufts (6) and Johns Hopkins (11).
 
The epee squad finished behind only Temple (first) and Tufts (second). The Rangers also placed fifth in both foil and sabre.
 
Five Rangers qualified the individual championship by finishing among the top-16 in their weapon during the morning's team competition. In epee, seniors Brenna Behensky and Amira Mutakabbir each tied for third place to earn First Team All-NIWFA honors by virtue of their top-eight performance.
 
As the No. 4 seed, Behensky opened the direct-elimination round with back-to-back close victories, edging Olivia Bennett of Brandeis 15-13 before nipping Vera Witte, also of Brandeis, 15-12. Her run came to an end in the semifinals with tough 15-11 loss to top-seeded Karen Bei of Tufts.
 
Mutakabbir opened with a nailbiter, a 15-14 victory over Bronwyn Rothman-Hall of Brandeis. She added a 15-8 win over Francesca Granada-Musa of Army before her day came to an end with a close 15-12 loss to Victoria Doroshkevich of Temple in the semifinals.
 
Freshman Filiz Erdogan added a sixth-place finish in foil, earning her Second Team All-NIWFA recognition. She registered an impressive performance in her direct competition opener, topping Elena Fernandez Negron of NJIT 15-5.
 
Senior Sophie Gajowskyj also captured a top-10 performance, taking ninth in sabre. Senior Nzingha Mutakabbir added a 15th-place showing in the same weapon.
  
The NIWFA All-Academic Team was also announced at the event, and Behensky earned a spot on the team. The criteria for the NIWFA All-Academic team are overall GPA, extracurricular activities, fencing results and team leadership. Each institution is allowed to nominate one student-athlete for the award.

Several Rangers will continue their season at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional Championships next Saturday back in Drew's Simon Forum.